Two Black women executives are shaping the future of autonomous transportation as chief executives of major self-driving vehicle companies.
According to a feature published by AfroTech and highlighted by Forbes in its “Women to Watch 2026” list, Aicha Evans, CEO of Amazon-owned Zoox, and Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Alphabet’s Waymo, are emerging as key figures in the rapidly evolving robotaxi sector, leading large-scale deployments of fully autonomous vehicles in major U.S. cities.
AfroTech reports that Evans, who has led Zoox since 2019, guided the company through a major industry milestone when Amazon acquired the self-driving startup in 2020 for approximately $1.2 billion. The acquisition kept Zoox operating as a standalone business while advancing Amazon’s broader ambitions in autonomous ride-hailing. At the time, Evans said the deal “solidifies Zoox’s impact on the industry” and expands opportunities to develop fully driverless vehicles.
Before joining Zoox, Evans spent more than a decade at Intel, where she held senior engineering and strategy roles. Under her leadership, Zoox recently launched its self-driving shuttles to the public in Las Vegas. In an interview with Bloomberg, Evans described the launch as “more than a decade in the making.”
Zoox currently operates at several high-profile locations along the Las Vegas Strip, offering free rides through its app. Riders can select destinations while routes dynamically adjust based on real-time traffic conditions. Evans emphasized that the company’s rollout strategy is deliberately measured, prioritizing operational reliability and scalability before introducing fares, which will require regulatory approval.
Zoox has also begun limited operations in San Francisco and has announced plans to expand service to Austin and Miami.
Tekedra Mawakana, also recognized by Forbes, joined Waymo in 2017 as global head of policy before rising to chief operating officer and later co-CEO in 2021. Her background includes senior leadership roles at eBay, Yahoo, and AOL.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Mawakana discussed Waymo’s growth trajectory and safety-first approach, noting strong public adoption in cities where the service is already available. Waymo currently operates in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, and San Francisco, with plans to expand in 2026 to Washington, D.C., Miami, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, Nashville, and London.
According to Mawakana, Waymo aims to reach one million weekly trips by late 2026, building on more than 10 million fully autonomous rides completed so far. While regulatory approval remains a prerequisite in some markets, the company continues to scale cautiously.
“We’re extraordinarily incremental,” Mawakana said. “We have to earn trust.”
Waymo now completes roughly 450,000 paid rides each week—nearly double its early 2025 figures—according to investor disclosures cited by CNBC.
The company has also expanded freeway driving to the public in select cities following internal testing.
AfroTech notes that together, Evans and Mawakana represent a powerful shift in leadership within the transportation and technology sectors, placing Black women at the forefront of an industry poised to redefine urban mobility in the coming years.
